


Cliques

by virghoe



Category: Game Grumps, Ninja Sex Party - Fandom
Genre: F/M, High School AU, Slow Build, dan's a prep what???, just kinda fuckin around
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-11-02
Packaged: 2018-04-13 02:03:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4503594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/virghoe/pseuds/virghoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While you weren't too mindful on who was popular or not, you found it a bit intimidating sitting next to Dan Avidan in math class. But maybe what's to come is even more intimidating.<br/>(Also s/o to user EnvelopesYou for the inspiration)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Math Class

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah I wrote a high school AU and ofc Dan likes The Darkness bc why wouldn't he and idk if its like only a thing about where im from but the douchebags are the lacrosse players rather than the football players??? Idk tho maybe thats only culturally significant to me lmao
> 
> Also silently enjoying the irony of the grumps hating dan lmao

Like many, you sucked at math. And so when picking out your schedule, you just let yourself fall into the next math you _had_ to take, that’s not where your attention was focused when making your senior schedule, of course. But when you were faced with “Trigonometry w/ Algebra” you were a little more than intimidated. Trig is what the “big kids” learned, but you were a “big kid” weren’t you? Yeah, a senior in high school was definitely a “big kid”. But life had that way of speeding past without your permission, and while you yourself still felt as responsible as a fifth grader, you were put in the position of actually being a functioning almost-adult. So yes, you were technically ready, but someone forgot to inform your mind of that. Rather than get yourself tangled in anxiety, you went in with a surprisingly relaxed outlook. You were nervous, but that would be for later, I mean, you hadn’t even had the chance to fail yet, so eventually there would be turmoil, but your inner self was keeping it controlled for the minute. But the room seemed non-threatening. It was bright, with cutesy paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and out-dated internet memes laminated and stapled to the wall, the irony of it all tried to push a laugh from you, you stifled it, but made a note to bookmark it in your mind, so you could tell your friends later. You walked to the front to look at the seating chart, scanning the room, but nothing too extraordinary to see. Well, that was until you saw the seating chart.

  
You were sitting next to _Danny_. Danny was widely regarded as the most likeable, attractive, guy in school. Not in a sense that was too exaggerated, girls didn’t throw themselves at him, but if you were to ask any girl who her ideal boyfriend would be from the school, they’d say Dan. He only arrived here in freshman year, exchanging from an old private school. And when he grew in some stubble, he started turning heads. In particular a girl named Kate’s. You knew her from elementary school, you were actually quite close friends back then, but as years went on you drifted into different social circles, her’s a little more conventional than yours. Her and Danny began dating sophomore year, and you were happy for her. From what you remember she was deserving of sweetness like his. All that said, you still felt a little nervous when Danny finally took his seat next to you. I mean, you didn’t want to give the wrong impression, and have one of the sweetest people in the school hate you (because that would _totally_ happen). So you stayed quiet. His hands ran over the desk a minute while he sighed, and then he began drumming his fingers along the border of your desk and his. During this he took a quick glance at you, and looked away. The intensity of right now was equivalent to something on Shark Week. After a minute of pursed lips and furrowed brows, he turned back for a longer look, you tried occupying yourself to make it look like you _so weren’t_ focused on him looking at you. When it occurred to him he probably shouldn’t look at anyone for that long, he let a gentle shake tousle through his mass of hair, and looked back to his desk.

  
“Excuse me” he asked, a bit prematurely than his subconscious would have preferred.

  
“Yeah?” you asked back oh so innocently, because you _totally_ weren’t preparing for this, rehearsing in your mind the exact tone you would use when speaking to him.

  
“Did you go to Jefferson Elementary?” A little out of left field, but ok, at least you had an answer.

  
“Actually, yeah, I did” you said, allowing your full body to turn to him, and yourself to relax a bit, your posture deflating in front of him.

  
“Yeah!” his smile was fully there now, and wide, he kept it as he pulled out his phone, a few swipes and then shoving the picture into your hand. No matter how faded it was, you could tell which one was you. He must have seen the smile creep on your lip,

  
“You’re this one right?” he said pointing exactly to you.

  
“Yup” you said back, smile widening on the “p”,

  
“Yeah! I’m right here” he then drew his finger up to the small kid with the mop top, and apple cheeks. To the side stood six year old Kate, you guessed this was a little joke between them. A light giggle found its way out and he continued:

  
“Yeah, most people from that school don’t remember me, I left after first grade for a private school” he said, pressing his lips into a slightly shifted smile. Wait, he had more.

  
“But I remember you, you beat up that Jenny girl one day” God, if he had to remember one thing about you, it had to be that, didn’t it?  You guessed everyone does something embarrassing like that in elementary school, but it still brought a flash of heat to your cheeks.

  
“Don’t worry, we all hated her” he laughed. It was bubbly, the way his voice popped in sweet bursts originating from the hard flutter of his lungs, it was inviting, and before you could decide if you wanted to or not, you joined him, shyly though. You both found a comfortable silence, and turned to the front again. When a work sheet was passed out by your tiny thing of a teacher, Dan’s eyes widened at the paper, with a long exhale he filtered into a stream. He tapped your arm with two fingers,

  
“You good at math?”

  
“Not at all” you laughed, a little lower and uglier than you anticipated,

  
“Well, we’re boned” he let himself feel out the “o”, smile twisting the word a bit. You laughed, as you wrote your name, a pencil feeling foreign after a summer of little to no writing. But it wouldn’t stay in your hand too long, Dan would find a way to distract you. Some joke, or a comment on the music he caught you listening to,

  
“The Darkness? Really?” he asked, a scratchy breath accompanying his laugh.

  
“Yeah, _The Darkness_ , they’re actually pretty good, so fuck off” you were being a bit liberal with your causality, but that’s how it felt right then, like you had been friends for awhile.

  
“Yeah, I don’t know why I made fun of you, I actually kinda like them” he admitted, he mumbled a bit at the end, with a clearing of his throat, Dan was good at playing things up dramatically, even if the only audience was you. You were a little surprised he was familiar with them at all, they were popular for a hot minute in 2008, but even then you wouldn’t expect him to know about them. All of this made you sound like a music elitist, but since most of the people he associated with listened to exclusively Sublime, your bar was low enough to trip over. So yeah, you were being a music elitist. You smiled again, and tried to go back to your work. Emphasis on tried. Because Dan would soon start singing under his breath, growing louder every second, and part of you couldn’t help but to think that maybe it was to make you laugh. His voice went to a ridiculous falsetto, one that was so obnoxious is caught the attention of the teacher, who gave him the most evil pair of eyes. He got quiet quickly, and let his eyes shift to you, and a snort caught in his mouth. You couldn’t help but let a slight snicker slip out, and you immediately looked down so it was muffled by your unfinished work. Somehow in the last five minutes you were able to get a respectable amount of work done, and let Dan copy that. After the bell rang, you prepared to go to lunch, but Dan would stop you before you left.

  
“Hey, you going to lunch?”

  
“Yeah”

  
“Well, you got a walkin’ buddy” he said, smiling down at you. You both made your way across school to the cafeteria, light conversation mumbled between your weighted walk, hunched over with books, and his head tucked to his chest, and hands mashed in his pockets. You stopped in front of the entrance to the cafeteria, you could see your friends, sat in the back corner of the senior section, already finding something to shout about at each other. And you could see his friends, sat quietly near the front, a bland expression found a new form on each face.

  
“Well, I’ll, uh, see you around” you stuttered, body starting to turn to your table,

  
“See ya around, Math Class” Dan said sweetly, a slight sigh carrying his words.

  
You couldn’t let him see you smile at that, you walked briskly over to your table, so maybe _if_ Dan was watching you, he could stop.

  
“Were you just talking to _heart throb_ , Danny Avidan?” Ross mocked you as soon as you took your seat.

  
“Wait, really?” Arin added, turning too overtly to see if he was looking, he wasn’t, but you hoped Arin would just turn back.

  
“What does he want with a dork like you?” Ross asked, mouth full.

  
“Be nice” Holly added, in a more motherly tone than she _should_ have to use with him. God bless her.

  
“Look, I know you guys probably think he’s a jackass like those other guys, but he’s actually really nice” you tried defending yourself, stirring your lunch mindlessly.

  
“Yeah, I bet you guys talked about the _wicked_ lacrosse game yesterday” Arin added, and you had to laugh, because well, he did hang with the douche-y LAX bros.

  
“How was Joey’s project party that he DJ’d?” Barry asked, sarcasm absolutely drenching his words. God, they did all think they were good DJs, who was going to tell them?

  
“I don’t know guys, he’s just different” you said again, finally taking a bite.

  
“Ok (y/n), whatever you say” Suzy added in, even the most supportive member of your group couldn’t help but be pessimistic about this guy. But you couldn’t blame them, for all of you, it was Dan’s friends and people like them that bullied you all through growing up. And while those days were behind you all, there was still a huge cultural divide between the cliques. And Dan seemed to be the exception, you found it strange how he stayed with all of the unbelievable assholes he talked to. You took a quick glance at him, and that maybe explained a lot of things.

  
He sat with Kate, who twirled a finger in his sideburn, and while one of the guys went on with a story, he faked a laugh, and smiled a forced closed smile to Kate. He looked bored, he looked lost.


	2. Game Cube

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's weird introducing one world of yours to another

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there this is short and i am sorry

The weeks that went by were unremarkable, and you were quickly familiarized with the actual process of going to school. Getting up early, drowning yourself in coffee, doing all of your homework during other classes, and finding the highlight to your day. Yours was quickly becoming Dan. _He has a girlfriend_. You had to keep reminding yourself, because, well, it was incredibly hard not to get a crush on him. He was sweet, and charming, and yes, handsome. God, you hated dwelling on that aspect but it was really hard to ignore, in particular you loved his long brown curls that found a way to sit just right everyday. And his kind eyes, ones that had little crinkles when he smiled, ones that were cradled so well by long eyelashes. And his _smile_ , it was soft and often pushed to the side, with an angled lip and crooked teeth showing, God, you felt so fucking special when you made him smile.

And he was interesting, the guys your age were mostly very narrow minded, not even excluding your friends, but he seemed so open, almost wise. Normally you would tread lightly with opinions around any guys like him, but with him you could talk, you could _vent_ , and not have to fear a stiff silence later punctuated with his total denial of whatever you said. He was one to vent a lot too, a little too much, part of you wondered if you were the only one he could talk to, like that. With the crowd he hung around with, he was definitely alone most of the time in his opinions, ones a little too basic, like _women deserve respect_. But you couldn’t expect more from them, rich boys taught by their fathers, who were taught by their fathers, generations fed by the silver spoon. So you listened, and each time you did, he thanked you. You found it sad that he did that.

  
“Fuckin’ like… I don’t know, thank you for listening to my batshit crazy rambles” He laughed again, filling up another class period with his frustrations, he was vague on subject matter, but you were willing to jump to some obvious conclusions. It was a little too obvious how forced he was into his social circle, the way he behaved, it was nothing like the boys he had to be with, and his opinions towards Kate, he never really talked about. And no, he shouldn’t have to talk about her every second of every day, but you would think she would come up once, maybe? It wasn’t your business, so you tried not to wrap yourself up in that.

  
“It’s fine” you chuckled to him, almost in unison with the bell ringing. While you waited for him to pack up the rest of his things, he turned to you,

  
“Hey, um, do you have an extra place at your table?” Dan asked, you rose a brow at him and answered a little hesitantly.

  
“Yes?” he was quick to respond,

  
“Well, because Kate and her friends are gone for a Mock Trial meet” another thing those guys were convinced of, how witty and clever they were.

  
“Oh, uh, yeah, sit with us”

  
“Are you sure your friends are ok with that?” It was a little silly of him to ask, if he had asked to sit at any other table, everyone would jump at the chance of having him there. You found it humorous that he, the great Danny Avidan, had to ask to sit at your table that was riddled with, frankly, nerds.

  
“It’s fine” It probably wasn’t, but it didn’t matter. Your friends had sprung things like this on you before, so they could get just grow up and let it happen. He smiled again, swinging his backpack over his shoulder.

  
It felt weird walking past the spot you normally separated from Dan… with Dan. And it definitely prompted some eyebrows to rise on your walk over. When Dan first took a seat next you, it was quiet.

  
“Well, you guys know Danny” you said loud enough so everyone would have to acknowledge the 6ft tall, skinny, elephant at the table.

  
“Yeah...” Arin said hesitantly, and Suzy made eyes at Holly, who made eyes at Ross, who was not helpful. Everyone quietly found a way to occupy themselves, for what seemed to be an excruciating lunch.

  
“Hey, uh, that’s a cool drawing” Danny attempted with Ross,

  
“Yeah, thanks…” _Ross_.

  
“So, uh, anyone playing anything new?” this was a pathetic jump in conversation, but if your friends could talk about anything, it was video games, while this was a generic question, it got Dan talking,

  
“Yeah, well, I bummed my friend’s old Game Cube and went to re-play Sunshine” and you could practically feel Arin roll his eyes, God was he snob sometimes.  
“Oh dude, that’s like a favorite of mine” you added, just to encourage Dan to say something cool, something to hook these guys in.

  
“I mean, Game Cube was the last time they tried to do anything creative in the Mario franchise…” Dan continued, good move him. At different speeds you could see the heads pop up to him, each different shades of impressed. Yeah, it wasn’t a too indepth analysis of video game culture, but one far beyond anything they expected from him. And he had more coming. It wasn’t long before Arin was straight cackling at one of Dan’s stories, and Ross laughing one of his uglier and concerning laughs. Before Dan could continue with one of his almost unrealistic tales, his phone began buzzing.

  
“Oh, uh, Kate? Hold on” he said calming down from his laugh, and moving out of his seat to take the call. You gave your proudest “I told you so” look to everyone at the table, paired with a mouthing of the word “see?”. To which each responded with a nod, one accepting their defeat. When Dan returned from what seemed like an exhausting call with Kate, he ran a hand down his face, stretching out the skin in frustration, with a deep sigh and he sat to the table, head rested on his palm. You looked at him a moment, and yeah, it wasn’t your business, but you couldn’t help but be curious to why Dan was always so bored when talking to her. The bell rang and you all slowly rose from your seats,

  
“Hey, you should sit with us again sometime” said Barry, trying to find Dan’s eyes, that were tucked under his mass of hair.

  
“Uh, ha, yeah” Dan said nervously, _not_ trying to make eye contact, and he left. You knew he wasn’t coming back, and Arin gave you a look.

  
“What’s up his butt?” he said, as sincerely as you can say that sentence,

  
“He’s fucking whipped by a high school popularity complex” you sighed, both looking the direction he left after.


	3. Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, all is not well in paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey i haven't updated in forever but i kinda just feel like this is bad and sucky and i might just end up writing chapters to go with the new thing i posted "Favor" bc i can see an actual story there, i might do something high school AU again, but i think this attempt wasnt the right angle idk

“Hey uh, you wanna, y’know, come to Barry’s tonight?” it took you awhile to actually formulate this sentence. You were nervous, for one thing. I mean, math class was casual and non-committal, to him, your friendship could all be out of happenstance. But to actually invite him out, imply that he could be associated with you guys, was a little more weighted. If anyone found out, people would talk, and while that meant nothing to you, it was his world. He sat in a throne of gossip, glued together with superlatives, gilded with honorable mentions. His entire social life was dependant on other people, leaving him a little helpless in the matter.

  
“Uh, yeah, actually” he smiled at you. You weren’t surprised that he wanted to go, but that he was actually going. Of course it wasn’t going to be crazy, most of your friends didn’t drink, and the ones who did, were kind enough to not do it when the sober ones were around. You were most likely going to watch a movie, hopefully Dan could pick one out, to really solidify the fact that he was “cool”. Because he really needed to justify himself to dorks like you.

  
“So, uh, meet me after school? I can give you a ride there” It was well after the bell at this point, but you were only going to be late for lunch. You pushed out the straps of your backpack with your thumbs, and shifted the weight in your feet.

  
“You got it” from under his curls, Dan shot you one of his goofier smiles, one that should be accompanied by some cheesy finger guns. You let a snort rumble from you as you turned with Dan, only to be separated again once you sat at your respective tables. You could’ve sworn you saw Kate give you a nasty look.

  
\---

  
You let the metal of your car burn your back while you waited for Dan. You drummed your fingers, letting them singe slightly with each tap. You squinted towards the school, but not for long, it was easy to spot Dan from a distance. He did that polite run that pedestrians do when they cross the street all the way over to your car.

  
“Hey” he grinned widely at you, a little more eager than you expected him to be, you put your hand above your brows to look up at him, smile still toothy as ever. You didn’t mean to giggle, but it was justified. It was like taking a kid to a candy store, but with his excitement came the sad realization that this was the first time he had gone out, and _actually had fun_ , in a while.

  
The ride over was filled to the brim with your music, and a single time Dan thanked you for inviting him, and bubbled over with laughs from an overzealous rendition of “Run-Around” by Blues Traveler, and terrible song you knew all the lyrics to for whatever reason.  They followed you two into Barry’s front door, and down the stairs, where you two would be greeted by your friends.

  
“So what’s on the agenda?” you asked, flopping down on the couch.

  
“Movie?” Barry asked to everyone, who nodded, or let out some sort of verbal confirmation.

  
“Before we all start killing each other in the argument, I suggest we let Dan pick out the movie” You said, early enough to fight any argument. Barry, who was currently handling the remote, tossed it to Dan.

  
“That’s a big responsibility you’ve been trusted with” Ross said, his lip stretched straight from the smirk.

  
“I got it” Dan said confidently, for show of course. He ended up picking “Wet Hot American Summer”, but if you knew your friends, they wouldn’t end up paying attention. It started with arguments over the last slice of pizza, a trailed off story about the time Dan went skinny dipping, pausing so Barry could get yelled at by his mom (it was easy to forget how loud you guys could be) but once everyone’s mind ran thin of ways to distract each other, you fell to a comfortable silence. For them it was comfortable. Suzy had found herself nuzzled into the bend of Arin’s abdomen, his hand draped over her wrapped form. On the other side of you, Holly and Ross laid back, heads finding ways to lay atop each other, and hands laced lazily between them. Barry and Kevin sat on the floor, Kevin absorbed in his phone, and Barry fully occupied by the movie. While they were oblivious to their surroundings, you were so focused on every stitch you were touching in this couch, and exactly how close that was to Dan. Dan yawned, and stretched himself back across the couch, and you almost let your head fall to his free shoulder, but you realized how utterly stupid that was. Well, it was stupid wasn’t it? I mean, yes, friends can touch each other in that way, but it was inappropriate, he has a girlfriend and you have a crush. But, he didn’t know you have a crush, he only knew that you were friends, and friends _touch_. Maybe if you moved with full confidence he would just get it, understand that it was an act intended for purely platonic reasons. It only took your head to twitch slightly before you heard his phone buzz. 

  
“Oh hey, gotta take this” he said, moving upwards quickly, and already taking the call when walking to the foyer. You really tried not to listen in, but your ear became ultra sensitive after you heard him say _“Kate?”_.

“Woah woah, what’s the problem?” he said more angry than concerned.

  
“Look-” he began, the creek of a door interrupting him, he slammed it as he left, and on that beat, all eyes flew to you.

  
“I’ll go check on him” you said, not really prepared on how to actually help. You were hesitant opening the door after him, you saw him pacing the driveway, he had not yet noticed that you were there.

  
“I’m with my _friends_ ”

  
“I don’t really care? They’re nice people”

  
“Oh please, let me tell you how that party went tonight: Tom got drunk, broke his mom’s vase, and then made some girl uncomfortable”

 

“It’s _completely_ true!”

  
“You don’t even know them!?”

  
“Oh, _fuck_ you”

  
“Good!” Everything was so harsh. You had never thought you would see Dan so _unfiltered_ before. He was yelling, actually yelling. His voice had taken on a gravely quality, one that frightened you just a bit. His head threw itself back when he hung up, stars cooling the hot wash he had all over his face.

  
“Hey, Dan?” he turned to you, a stoney and frustrated face warmed itself. Like cracks rippling through concrete. You couldn’t help but let a warmth take over your throat when you spoke to him next.

  
“I didn’t mean to snoop, but well, I heard… that and I don’t know if I can help but-”

  
God, it felt good to kiss him. While you were caught off guard by the full grab of your face with his palms, you were relieved to have it followed by the strong press of his lips to yours. The way this unwound the muscles in your body was gradual, and sweet. It led to a slow creep of your hands over him, just trying to find the right place to sit, but it all felt too good. When he took himself from you, a frost settled over your lips, and your cheeks would freeze over after the brief moment he spent looking at you, your face probably an all time goofy. Taking himself back, he was mechanical.

  
“Let’s go finish the movie” he said quickly, shoving himself inwards and walking back up to the door. You let yourself stand in the driveway a minute, letting your finger press over every crease that splintered through your lips.


	4. Other Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rumors have some substance don't they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So surprise i added to this even though i thought it was dead??? You can thank boredom for this one. Don't expect much more from this but you know... who knows! As always leave a comment!
> 
> Tumblr: grumpsin.tumblr.com

“I heard it was because of another girl” you couldn’t give the stray voice in the hallway a name, but you knew the subject. Dan had broken up with Kate over the weekend. And while no one knew of the kiss he swiped from you, people created some good rumors that treaded the truth a little too well. You didn’t feel found out though. No one would suspect it was you. And that was good. That was really good.

  
Dan hadn’t talked to you after that night at Barry’s. When the movie ended he left pretty abruptly, he had called his mom from the bathroom to pick him up. Your friends were quick to berate you with questions, but it felt wrong to tell them about his moment of desperation, about his mistake.

  
That’s what it had to be, right? None of it added up. None of it made sense. You, someone he didn’t really know, and him. He was something so different, something so good, something beyond you and your girlish smile and crossed ankles. You wouldn’t hold his mistake against him. That would be cruel of you.

  
You didn’t know how to face math. You didn’t know whether to smile and greet him as if nothing was wrong, or be rightfully ashamed. You went with dead quiet. That’s what you’d been practicing all day, you were good at it.

  
You had gotten your first practice with this technique when first hearing of the break up. Ross ran to you in the hallway before school started, nearly scaring the coffee out of your hand.

  
“___!” He seemed excited, and you couldn’t pinpoint why (even now knowing his news).

  
“They broke up”

  
“Who?”

  
“Dan and Kate” you gave Ross and laugh, but really tried not to lead him on to the initial excitement. Whatever you had been fantasizing had a bit more plausibility to it now, but you stifled this reaction. That was the responsible thing to do. If there is anything crushes taught you, it was how to keep your hopes low.

  
You retained that silence and applied it in thick layers before you even entered the classroom. These layers thinned themselves when you saw Dan. for the first time ever, early. As you walked to your desk, you tried being sly in how you gauged his expression.

  
He soon had a smile, expanding ever so slowly, one that wiped you clean of silence, and maybe even peppered you with laughter.

  
“Hey, Math Class… Sorry for bailing so early, had things to do” he said in his voice that he put on for people that weren’t you.

  
“I noticed” you didn’t mean to be so blunt, but that was your first thought. An unfiltered one.

  
“Yeah I guess you heard” his voice relaxed to the one he gifted you with. The real one.

  
“Why’d you do it?” you didn’t mean to rip back the bandage to quickly, but you were dying a little at the anticipation.

  
“Sudden change of heart” he said forward, only glancing at you for the second you weren’t locked on him. This was an answer. Enough of one to shut you up for awhile, most of the class in fact.

  
When class ended you waited at the door for Dan to join you, he followed and smiled that famous crooked smile, one you wonder if Kate misses. People seemed to part for him in the hallways today. Whispers were littered in your wake, something akin to the word “Scumbag”. Insults were puffs of air settling like fog around your feet. Dan had definitely descended in social ranking. However, he seemed unfazed. Not necessarily happy at the prospect, but not at all hindered. He seemed ready for this. Prepared. This didn’t stop him from halting at the door to the cafeteria, you looked under his curls to him.

  
“You ok?”

  
“I don’t know where I’m gonna sit” his tone was a more painful to hear somber, luckily you had an answer.

  
“With us, silly”

  
“You guys don’t hate me?” he was being unbearably raw with you,

  
“Of course not” you hushed. Smiles were warm upon your friend’s faces as he sat with you. And conversation was slow to begin with, but rolled with not much hiccup. Dan seemed the happiest he had been all day.

  
\---

  
After school you had been far from Dan since lunch, but he hadn’t left your thoughts. It was hard for him to, what with all the gossip now weighing his name. You’d even seen Kate, her melodrama brimming her eyes, and blue-ing her knuckles. For show, you assumed. Dan shared at lunch that during their breakup, she’d confessed to hooking up with some LAX bro from a different school. This made you sick.

  
Dan was still bumping around your thoughts as you made your way to your car, and it was almost funny how he coincidentally was leaning up against the old junker.

  
“Give me a ride?” he pleaded with puppy eyes, your laughter was answer enough.

  
You sang with Dan. Music seemed to be a theme between you two, an appropriate one. Dan was a music man in his thumbs and in his toes, in his elbows and in his chest. And you would feel out the beat of his rhythm at any chance, you often did without his knowledge. Music slowly faded when approaching his house, and when parked in the driveway he was slow pulling his backpack out from the car. He stood and closed the door, quick to cross and meet you at your window.

  
“Thanks, Math Class” his smirk never seemed to grow old on you.

  
“No problem” you smiled, this came out gentler than intended. Dan began to lift himself from leaning to you, and almost turned. But he seemed to have forgotten something, he back tracked and came to the window, almost to alert you- or maybe ask you something.

  
Well, you were alarmed, for a brief second, all until you realized that, yes, it was a kiss. Although you had felt his lips before this was still foreign, especially with all the convincing you had done to yourself. Improbable was the word instead of impossible, you assumed. When he disconnected you felt you needed air.

  
“What was that?” you gasped.

  
“Sudden change of heart”


End file.
